Where We Live: The Motion of the Commute

The Where We Live series is a Bay Area News Group project that showcases the beauty, energy and character of the Bay Area from the perspective of our photographers, graphic artists and designers. Here is the 28th installment of the Where We Live project, a collection of images made by photojournalist Laura Oda.

A commuter waits for the next BART train at the 19th Street station on Tuesday, June 28, 2016 in Oakland, Calif.(Laura A. Oda/Bay Area News Group)

A musician serenades the commuters at the Embarcadero Station in San Francisco, Calif., on Tuesday, Oct. 11 2016 in Oakland, Calif.(Laura A. Oda/Bay Area News Group)

BART riders are seen in the reflection as the train speeds through a station in San Francisco, Calif., on Tuesday, Oct. 11 2016 in Oakland, Calif.(Laura A. Oda/Bay Area News Group)

Pedestrians walk along the Embarcadero during the morning commute in San Francisco, Calif., on Thursday, Oct. 6, 2016. (Laura A. Oda/Bay Area News Group)

Commuters rush to the stairs to catch their morning BART train at the 24th Street Station in San Francisco, Calif., on Tuesday, Oct. 11 2016 in Oakland, Calif.(Laura A. Oda/Bay Area News Group)

The evening commute across the new Bay Bridge is photographed in Oakland, Calif., on Thursday, Oct. 20, 2016. (Laura A. Oda/Bay Area News Group)

There’s a flow to our daily commute, but it can be revealed only by using a slow shutter speed — a speed so slow that it’s like painting with light. This technique heightens the sense of movement, and the ebb and flow of daily life in the Bay Area takes on a whole new look. The stillness of a waiting passenger provides a stark contrast against the rush of a speeding train. Cars in motion leave illusory streaks of light in their wakes. The rhythm of the morning rush comes alive in a blur of colors. The scene is always changing as people get started on their day’s journey — or come to that journey’s end. With each frame, a new discovery.